Hear the Neighbor Owls

Who's Whoo
There are a number of wild and captive owls whoo have been or currently are a part of this vocal study. They have been given names for ease of reference and to reflect something about their individualness, since the birds each have a slightly different territorial hoot.

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Alice

Fell out of her nest in Antigo, WI in 1997, permanently damaging her left wing. She is unable to fly and live in the wild, so works at the Houston Nature Center and lives in the home of her licensed handler, Karla Bloem. Alice is imprinted on humans and treats Karla as her mate. Karla started a vocal study on the species out of self-defense when she realized no one else had ever studied their vocalizations and she needed to figure out what Alice was trying to say to her (and how she was supposed to respond.)

Wheezy

The resident female owl at Karla's place when she began her vocal study in 2004. For about one month her voice was very hoarse before it returned to normal. She was found unable to fly one mile east of Karla's place in August 2006 and was sent to The Raptor Center in St. Paul. She had West Nile Virus, went blind, and wasn't going to ever be releasable, so she was euthanized.

Wendell

The resident male owl at Karla's place when she began the vocal study. Wendell was Wheezy's mate and once showed up in the neighbor's chicken coop. Karla was called to extract him. In early 2005 a new pair (Victor and Virginia) pushed Wendell and Wheezy out of their existing territory just to the east of Karla's property. When Wheezy went to The Raptor Center with West Nile Virus in 2006, Wendell was seen nearly every day on the farm buildings where Wheezy had been picked up. Apparently he was waiting for her to return. In September of 2006 he hooted with Victor and Virginia a few nights, then was never heard from again.

Victor

A male that came from the west and pushed Wendell and Wheezy out of their existing territory at Karla's place in 2005 (hence his name). His mate was Virginia, and his territorial boundaries have varied over the years but have always included or been close to Karla's yard.

Virginia

Mate to Victor. Named for the scientific name of Great Horned Owls: Bubo virginianus. She was found unable to fly on a sandbar in the Root River over a mile east of Karla's place in July 2012. She was taken to The Raptor Center where they found a slice in her pectoral muscle filled with maggots. She was cleaned and stitched but died three weeks later, presumably from an abscess under the skin in her leg.\

Rusty

A male Great Horned Owl from the Antigo, WI area. He was hit by a car and is blind in his right eye. He can't live in the wild so is living in Houston, MN as part of a vocal study Karla is conducting on his species. He moved to Houston in October of 2010 and was named for his dark rusty coloration.

Iris

A female from the Antigo, WI area. She came to the Raptor Education Group with a puncture to her right eye that left her blind in that eye. She was deemed unreleasable and got chummy with Rusty in captivity, so the two of them were selected as the breeding pair for this vocal study. She was named Iris because of her eye injury and also moved to Houston in October of 2010.

Scarlett Owl Hara

Her name says it all. She showed up in February 2011, a few months after Rusty and Iris moved in. She is a wild female who didn't have a mate and apparently was trying to steal Rusty away to be her mate. She tried to attack Alice at least three times by slamming into the window of the house where Alice was perched. She harassed Rusty and Iris daily for months, late into the morning, starting early in the evening, and sometimes even in the middle of the day. She hooted and squawked on the top of their cages and in the surrounding trees through June 2011. Another wild female (Jezebelle) showed up for a few days in August, then Scarlett was back again. She finally found her own mate (Rhett) in October of 2011, half a mile west of Karla's.

Rhett

Mate of Scarlett Owl Hara. After Scarlett was no longer heard, he flirted with Delilah as she went back and forth between him and the recently widowed Victor. Delilah eventually took him as her mate and they reside half a mile west of Karla's.

Jezebelle

A wild, unmated female who showed up for a couple of days in early August 2011. She acted like Scarlett, hooting and squawking on Rusty and Iris' cage and slamming into a window to try to attack Alice in the house. She injured her eye when she slammed into the window. After two days Jezebelle was gone and Scarlett was back.

Delilah

She was first heard early in 2012 just west of Karla's place. Occasionally Rhett hooted in her vicinity. In June of 2012 she began coming into Karla's yard to hoot at Alice, who had just begun using her new outdoor screened "patio." She spent time with Victor a month after Virginia was sent to The Raptor Center, then went back to Rhett, then Victor, and now she's settled down with Rhett half a mile west of Karla's place.

Patience or Pandora Hoot

These owlets were hatched and raised in captivity as part of a vocal study on their species. They began hooting like a adult-sounding owls at 7 months of age.

Patience or Pandora Hoot II

These owlets were hatched and raised in captivity as part of a vocal study on their species. They began hooting like a adult-sounding owls at 7 months of age.

Patrick Hoot

Patrick was raised in captivity as part of a vocal study on his species. He began sounding like an adult owl at 7 months of age.

Items of Interest

Our Mission

The International Owl Center advances the survival of wild owl populations through education and research. We plan to accomplish our mission through biological and cultural programs and displays, green building design, citizen-science and other research, international exchange of information, the World Owl Hall of Fame, the International Festival of Owls, and other means.